A Kiss Is Still A Kiss
by favgarden
Summary: The Captain thinks he has a rival for Carolyn's attentions after finding tokens of affection around the house. Repost of my old Valentine story with some minor changes.


The characters in this story belong to 20th Century Fox. I'm borrowing them for just a little while for fun, but promise to take good care of them. I also wish to give credit to the Hershey Company for a delicious product and inspiring my story.

A Kiss Is Still a Kiss

Captain Gregg appeared in the alcove, prepared to put in a few good hours of work on his sea charts. He thought that since the children were at school and Martha and Carolyn were out shopping in Keystone, it would be the perfect opportunity to work without interruption. He sat at his desk and was reaching for the fountain pen Carolyn had given him that past Christmas when a small, silver object caught his eye.

"What on earth?" he asked aloud as he picked up the tiny item and examined it closely. It was a rather odd shaped thing; small and silver with a tiny strip of paper on the top with the word, "Hershey's" written in pale blue.

'Hmm…I wonder who this 'Hershey' person is and why this was left here?' he thought to himself.

'It probably belongs to one of the children,' he decided and put the object into his jacket pocket, intent on returning it to the children upon their return from school.

Without the family around to interrupt his work, time passed quickly and Captain Gregg was able to update his charts much to his satisfaction. The next task on his list was to make observations through the telescope in 'his' cabin.

In the blink of an eye, he was standing beside the French doors in the master bedroom, ready to look out at the surrounding landscape beyond the balcony. As the Captain was about to raise his hand to the telescope, he noticed yet another of the small shining objects poised upon the binnacle beneath the telescope.

"That's odd. The children do not usually come in here without permission and they certainly are not careless as to leave their things about the house. So why would there be one of these trinkets here? How on earth did this get in my cabin… in Carolyn's room… in OUR cabin and WHO left them here?" the Captain fumed aloud.

A slight roll of thunder burst through the silence of the house. The Captain began to pace. He reasoned that there surely had to be a logical explanation as to why these objects were about the house. He slipped the newly found item in his pocket along with the first one found and decided he would question Carolyn upon her return.

Finding he was too agitated to continue his observations, Captain Gregg decided to spend some time reading in the wheelhouse. Whenever the Captain had a lot on his mind, reading always seemed to soothe him. Upon his arrival in the wheelhouse, the Captain immediately walked over to his sea chest to retrieve the latest volume he was reading. He stopped dead in his tracks when, much to his surprise, another of the silver tokens left by this mysterious 'Hershey' sat atop the sea chest.

He could feel the rage growing inside him. He picked up the 'Hershey' in his hand and raised it his clenched fist in a threatening motion. "Blast you, Hershey! You invade my home…you come and go as you please…you even have the audacity to enter the bedroom of the woman I love! You shall rue the day you ever crossed my path!" Captain Gregg could not bear to be in the house another minute. He needed to think of how to handle this 'Hershey' problem and he always thought clearly up on the widow's walk. Up the stairway he climbed and then pushed open the hatch to gain access to the roof.

As the Captain stepped out into the bright sunshine, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the tangy salt air.

'Yes,' he thought, 'I shall make a plan to be rid of this 'Hershey'. No one intrudes on what is mine.'

But all of his self-confidence seemed to dissipate when he opened his eyes and saw yet another 'Hershey' set upon the railing, sparkling in the sunshine as if to mock him. The Captain's shoulders sagged in disbelief. Was there no place this intruder had not been? Suddenly down below, the Captain heard the sound of the Muir's car coming up the road.

He quickly snatched up the last of the 'Hershey's', put it in his pocket and headed for the foyer to confront Carolyn. The front door burst open and Carolyn walked in, accompanied by Martha. They immediately saw the Captain standing there, a scowl on his face and poised as if ready to do battle.

The smiles on the women's faces quickly disappeared. "Umm…I think I'll just go and put these groceries away," Martha mumbled then ran off into the kitchen. Carolyn looked after her friend and called out, "Coward!" before turning back to face the Captain.

"Is there something on your mind, Captain?" she tried to sound nonchalant.

"Indeed there is… if you will kindly follow me?" he motioned in the direction of the living room. Carolyn eyed him warily then headed into the living room.

"What is this all about, Captain?" she turned to face him, her expression filled with worry, "You look as though you've lost your best friend."

"Have I, Madame? Have I lost my best friend?"

"Captain, what on earth is the matter with you? I was only gone a few hours. It's not as if I wasn't coming back," Carolyn seemed confused by his obvious disappointment in her.

"Oh, I had no doubt you would be coming back, Madame. I just wondered if you would be bringing 'him' back with you."

"HIM? To whom are you referring?"

"You know perfectly well to whom I am referring. I mean that miserable scoundrel who left all those little silver tokens strewn about the house for you. Did you think I wouldn't notice them?"

"Captain, have you lost your mind? There is no 'him'."

"Oh, no?" the Captain turned his head and then noticed yet another 'Hershey's' on the mantle under his portrait.

"Then if you would be so kind as to explain this…!" he grabbed hold of the object and held it in his opened palm right in front of Carolyn's face.

She laughed in response. He was appalled.

"Captain, I can explain…" she could not speak for being overcome by a fit of giggling.

"I am so glad you find this so amusing," the Captain replied snidely.

Just then, Candy and Jonathan burst in through the front door having just come home from school.

"Hey, Mom! Wait till you hear what Candy got today!" Jonathan called out as the two children ran into the living room in search of their mother.

"Jonathan Muir, you be quiet, do you hear me?" Candy threatened.

The Captain turned away in disgust. Carolyn greeted the children, and then said, "Um… kids...I don't think this a good time. Why don't you go and get your snack from Martha?"

"But Mom… you got to hear this. Candy got TEN kisses from Mark today at the Valentine's party."

The Captain spun on his heels in the children's direction. Thunder boomed all around the house.

"Has the world gone mad? First, some stranger sneaks around the house leaving gifts for the woman I love, and then some pre-pubescent pup takes liberties with her daughter! I'll show that boy some manners!"

"WAIT! Captain! Let me explain!" Carolyn pleaded. Suddenly she realized what he had said.

"The woman you love?" she asked.

"What's a pre-pub…whatever?" Jonathan asked.

The Captain ignored their questions and began to pace about the room.

"I refuse to stand by allowing anyone to take advantage of a member of my household, ESPECIALLY a female member!"

The children looked at each other with total confusion. Then Candy turned to the Captain.

"Um… Captain … when Jonathan said that Mark gave me ten kisses, he meant CANDY kisses, not 'real' kisses. I mean real kisses would have been gross!"

The Captain looked bewildered at the girl's statement. He looked to Carolyn for clarification. "Candy kisses?" he murmured.

"Yes, Captain," Carolyn nodded. "Candy, please show the Captain what they look like."

Candy reached inside of her jacket pocket and withdrew a handful of the tiny silver 'Hershey's' that Mark had given to her at the Valentine's party. The Captain slowly opened his hand and looked at the similar items he held there.

"Kids, I think now would be a good time to see Martha about those snacks."

Carolyn ushered the kids out of the room and closed the double doors behind them. She put her forehead against the door and let out a deep breath before finally working up the courage to turn and look at the Captain, who was still standing somewhat dumbstruck by the fireplace.

"Madame… I don't know what to say…"

Carolyn tried hard not to smile as she slowly crossed the room to stand in front of him.

"Just what did you think you had found?" her curiosity was getting the best of her.

"I…well, I thought they were gifts from someone named 'Hershey'," he answered rather sheepishly as he tugged at his ear.

Carolyn turned away so he would not see her smile. Once she regained her composure, she turned back to the Captain.

"You actually thought I was seeing someone here at the house?"

"Well, yes… after all, you ARE a beautiful woman and heaven knows there have been men who have tried to call upon you."

"Captain, surely by now you know that you are the only one I have any interest in at all."

"Still…" he looked down at the candy 'kiss' in his hand.

"Allow me, " she said, as she removed the candy from his outstretched palm and unwrapped it.

"Open your mouth," she ordered. He quickly obeyed. Carolyn popped the candy into his mouth and he ate it.

"Chocolate kisses?" he asked with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

She nodded.

"You left these for me to find."

Carolyn nodded again.

"Why?"

Now it was Carolyn's turn to feel embarrassed. She sat down on the sofa and stared at her hands on her lap. The Captain sat down along side her, awaiting a reply.

"Well, it IS Valentine's Day and I suppose I was just being silly, but last night I was getting the children's things ready for school today and I saw the bag of 'kisses'. I thought about how… if it were possible … the one thing I would want from you on Valentine's Day would be…"

"Would be what?"

She looked at the Captain then quickly turned away. "I would want… a kiss… from you," she whispered and hung her head.

"I see…" He waited for her to continue.

"I slipped some of the candy into my pocket then went around the house and left a 'kiss' for you in all the places…" Her voice trailed off.

"In all what places?" he urged further.

Carolyn took a ragged breath before continuing.

"In all the places… I imagined …kissing you," she finally admitted. Standing up, she walked over to stare at the flames in the fireplace.

The Captain joined her there.

"M'Dear, surely you know how I have longed to take you into my arms and kiss you; here by the fire, in 'our' cabin beside the telescope as you gazed out at the ocean, all of these things I, too, have imagined."

She turned to look up into his eyes, her joy at his declaration apparent in her wide smile.

The Captain paused, pleased by her reaction, yet uncertain as to how Carolyn would react to he next admission.

"Now that I know you feel the same, perhaps we no longer need only imagine."

Slowly, the Captain raised his hand and hesitating only a brief moment, he reached out and touched his palm to Carolyn's cheek.

Carolyn's sharp intake of breath caused the Captain to begin to pull his hand away but Carolyn quickly covered it with her own. She closed her eyes and sighed, savoring the feel of his touch.

Not being able to resist, the Captain drew closer and softly brushed his lips against hers.

"Oh yes, please…" she whispered as his mouth captured hers. When the kiss finally ended, Carolyn sagged against him, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

The Captain enclosed her in his arms and held her close, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Mmm… that was delicious," she breathed against his chest. She felt the low rumble of laughter burst from the Captain.

"It was delicious?" he backed away slightly to give her a questioning look.

"Oh, yes… a chocolate kiss is always delicious," she teased then slowly licked her lips.

"Perhaps you would care for another then?" the Captain asked as he reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew another candy. Carolyn looked at the tiny silver 'kiss' in the Captain's hand and wrapped her arm through his.

"Well, Captain…I was just thinking...after all, I said that I left those for you in all the places I had imagined kissing you…"

"…And you think we should share our kisses in all those places?" he finished her sentence for her.

"Exactly!" she agreed. "I do like the way you think, Captain. That is, when you're not acting jealous…"

"Me? JEALOUS? How absurd! Why, I do not nor have I EVER had a jealous bone in my body. I do not understand how you could possibly think that I…"

Carolyn stopped his ranting by placing her hands on either side of the Captain's face and, drawing his head to hers, gave him a long, passionate kiss. When she broke away, Carolyn was very pleased to see the surprised expression on his face.

The Captain grinned wickedly at her and grabbed hold of her hand. "If I remember correctly, I found the first 'kiss' in the alcove…"

The End


End file.
